Solano County officers helped clear 'Occupy Oakland' camp

There was no hint of the violence to come when a contingent of more than 50 Solano County law enforcement officers responded early Tuesday to a request to help clear Frank Ogawa Plaza of "Occupy Oakland" protesters/ campers, a Vallejo Police Department participant said Wednesday.

Vallejo Police Dept. spokesman Sgt. Jeff Bassett said officers from all over Solano County participated.

"The briefing was in the Coliseum, there were so many officers," Bassett said. "We sent the Solano County Mobile Field Force Unit, but we weren't notified until the last minute, when they realized they needed more officers."

The unit is a multi-jurisdictional force, he said.

The Solano County contingent consisted of eight Vallejo and a half dozen Benicia officers, as well as a dozen each from Fairfield, from the Solano County Sheriff's Office and from a combination of Vacaville, Suisun and Dixon, he said.

The group gathered about midnight Monday, got to Oakland about 1 a.m., deployed for several hours and returned about 9 a.m., Bassett said. They joined some 350 officers from various area agencies, he said.

"It was fairly uneventful," he said. "The only people arrested were those who refused to clear the area, and they pretty much gave up with a whimper. There were no stones, no paint."

Some police were reportedly injured by stones and paint in later violence.

In fact, officers were "a little surprised" to learn the scene deteriorated later in the day in the area they'd cleared across from City Hall, Bassett said.

"There were more than 70 arrests around 5 a.m. Tuesday. The violence requiring a gas response all happened Tuesday evening," he said.

Most of the arrests were for unlawful assembly and illegal camping, according to news reports.

Solano County Sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. Walt Gilliam agreed that the Solano officers didn't expect the violence that came later based on how things went while the local cops where there.

"It was surprising," Gilliam said. "It looked like it went smoothly the morning before."

Police swept the camp away in the dawn raid, but that action also reportedly triggered a series of counter-protests by Occupy Oakland supporters.

Those who tried retaking the square Tuesday night were met by police who deployed tear gas, smoke grenades and shotgun pellet-filled "bean bags."

Describing conditions in the plaza as "horrendous," Bassett said he's surprised Oakland officials "let it go on so long."

"It was enough to make you vomit," he said. "There was ... garbage everywhere, it was just disgusting."